The starting five should be Chinyelu, Condon, Martin, Richard, and Clayton. That's what got them where they are. Next man up should be Haugh, then Aberdeen, and then Alexis, Handlogten, and Klavzar.
I say we keep things simple. For continuity and ego problem avoidance reasons, we start the five we have started most of the year. It's probably the lineup most likely to get us going in the early stages of games (It's relevant to remember that the injuries and changing lineups have made fast starts more problematic, and that's why I think continuity is so important right now). Then Golden can run guys in and out based on the usual menu of reasons. It will all work out. Matchups and foul troubles will be strong factors, but in general, those who are playing the best will play the most. Just be glad we have all these guys. Edited to add: Given the inevitable tired legs and foul troubles that will occur during the tournaments, having a fifth big in Alexis could be a real advantage for us in certain situations. Nobody in the country has a fifth big as good as Alexis. Heck...most teams don't even have a fifth big!
In the old days it would be Clayton and Richard/martin at guard, Haugh at the 3, condo at the 4 and chins at center. Now, with the emphasis on the 3, gotta go with the three guards, condo and chins.
Starters: Clayton, Martin, Richard, Condo, Chins Closers: Clayton, Richard, Martin, Haugh, Condo Our top 8 players should get 20+ minutes a game anyway...
I think it’s clear, Aberdeen has outplayed Martin overall this year. But perception is reality. Martin came in with inflated ability and Golden will stick with him. He’s not a good shooter.
Did you look any stats or just go with your gut? Looking at stats, Martin has outplayed DA with points per/minute (0.44 vs 0.4) FG% (44.7 vs 41%), FT% 86 vs 68.5) and 3 pt % 37 vs 35). Think someone needs a vision test.
Martin is going through a very rough stretch lately. Last three games he is shooting 34% from the field and had only two assists in total.
The main reason why Martin starts over Aberdeen is because of his experience as a Final Four contender and what he did in the tournament last year. That experience and mental toughness does not have a statistical value, but it is a major asset to our program and has been a tremendous difference maker in our season. Aberdeen has shown that he can hold down that position as admirably as Martin if he has to. However, the edge has to go to the one who’s been almost to the mountain top where no one else on our team has gone.
Yeah, I don't really care who starts. I think Golden should stick with the patterns he has used throughout the season. My only thought on lineup strategy is that we should avoid having (or needing) MH on the floor in the last few minutes of close games. I think he's made one (or maybe two?) FT(s) so far, but I don't think he's shot a FT yet that should have gone in (I think he banked one in). I believe it was in the Bama game from something like the 6-minute mark to about the 4-minute mark that I kept worrying that Bama (if someone on their staff had watched MH's FTs) would try a Hack-A-Shaq type strategy on MH when we had gotten to about a 10-point lead. Of course, they couldn't just obviously foul intentionally away from the ball, but I was still holding my breath until Golden subbed MH out with 3 or 4 minutes left. MH brings unique capabilities to the floor for us (such as great rebounding and rim protection), so I love that he's back playing this season. But, I would definitely try to protect a couple of our other bigs (e.g., sit them with 3 fouls and keep MH on the floor with 4 fouls in the middle of the second half) to help make sure we have other options in late-game situations if the other team starts the fouling game.
End of the game situations will always have Condon and Haugh on the floor, unless fouls are an issue or unless we need to sub out offense and defense for some reason. That’s our best combo, stronger on offense than defense, but good on both.
